Life Along the Tracks is an 'I was there' type book about the career of Mike McLaughlin who rode NP and MILW switch engines in Seattle in the early 1950's. In 1955 at age 17 Mike went to work as a GN section man in the Seattle area, and in a not really successful effort to escape shovel work, soon went to the Signal Department of the GN in Western Washington.
The book is a collection of short stories from his career on the GN, the Rock Island, and the Rio Grande, and as Traffic Manager for two large rail customers. He also discusses the Milwaukee Road's operations in Seattle and Bellingham, and the Pacific Coast Railroad which as the MILW's route into Seattle.
I recommend the book to those who want to know what it was like to work in these highly physical crafts, and/or have an interest in the GN and MILW in Seattle and Western Washington.